Not even a 16-month layoff could slow the Central College football offense Saturday.
With returning American Rivers offensive player of the year Blaine Hawkins (senior, Ankeny) at quarterback, the Dutch bolted to a 28-0 halftime lead and coasted to a 49-14 romp past Simpson College in the opening game of a brief 2021 spring season that replaces the traditional fall campaign, a COVID casualty.
A tipped Hawkins pass resulted in an interception on the game's third play, but then the four-year starter exhaled and went to work. He had a 5-yard TD strike to his favorite target from 2019, wide receiver Erik Knaack (senior, Reinbeck, Gladbrook-Reinbeck HS), followed by scoring tosses of 7 and 2 yards to tight end Billy Friis (junior, West Branch), the first of his Central career. Another collegiate first, a 46-yard TD dash by running back Carson Boyer (sophomore, Milledgeville, Ill.) made it 28-0 with 10:17 still left in the second quarter.
Hawkins struck again on an 8-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Herbers (sophomore, Urbandale, Des Moines Christian HS) in the third quarter, with freshman running back Noah Treimer (Pella, Pella Christian HS) getting a 1-yard score in his debut. Another rookie, linebacker Tate Hagen (Britt, West Hancock HS) returned an interception 30 yards to the end zone to start the fourth quarter.
"Some of the strengths of our team going into this game were definitely on display," coach Jeff McMartin said. "We have a lot of experience at some of our skill positions and I thought those guys played very well. Our defensive line has a lot of experience and played really well and at safety, too, Brayden Egli (junior, Saint Charles, Interstate 35 HS), had a great season last year and I though he played very well."
Hawkins embellished his school record passing numbers, completing 21 of 27 passes for 193 yards, with two interceptions and four scores.
"Blaine played really solid and with the situation of the game, we were able to run the ball well and get a lead," McMartin said. "The statistics, we'll try not to evaluate too much on that with him because there are always other things we could have done that maybe would have made those look different. But I thought he did a great job."
Central is minus a few key performers who will be back in the fall and that's particularly true at running back, but sophomore Isaiah Walk (Buffalo Center, North Iowa HS), Treimer and Boyer took advantage of some playing time. Walk had a game-high 88 yards on 13 carries, while Treimer rushed for 85 on 14 attempts and Boyer gained 74 yards on just seven carries as the Dutch pounded out 307 yards on 50 attempts.
"I was really happy at running back," McMartin said. "I thought we did some really good things and we showed that we have depth. There are some playmakers and that's exciting to see."
Meanwhile, a possible new top passing target was unveiled as freshman Logan Mont (Aurora, Ill., West Aurora HS) dazzled in his debut with eight catches for 78 yards, including 58 yards after the catch.
Central put up 495 yards total offense while limiting Simpson to 319, including 288 through the air. A pair of Simpson quarterbacks completed 25 of 50 passes for 288 yards and two scores but were picked off three times and sacked three times.
There were plenty of new faces making the most of their limited spring season opportunities for the Dutch. Most notably, freshman linebacker Josh Van Gysel (Anthem, Ariz., Boulder Creek HS) made a noisy entrance with a team-high 12 tackles, an interception and a pass breakup. Sophomore linebacker Greg Ricketts (Rochelle, Ill., Rochelle Township HS) had six stops and converted receiver/quarterback Cameron Bannister (sophomore, State Center, West Marshall HS) looked comfortable at strong safety with five stops. Egli also had five tackles along with an interception and a pass breakup.
Central makes its only spring road appearance next Saturday, taking on Nebraska Wesleyan University at Lincoln in a 1 p.m. game. The only other date on the spring slate is an exhibition with Buena Vista University April 17, but McMartin sees lots of benefits in the short season, particularly for the younger players.
"I think it's a chance for these freshmen to not be freshmen anymore," he said. "And for some of the other guys who haven't got a lot of experience to get some playing time. We want to come out of this so that the guys we were hoping to play last fall, they got some reps and now they're going to be ready to roll out here."
But work remains for the spring edition of the Dutch.
"There are lots of things, obviously after today, that we can work on, with the turnovers and the physical things on special teams as well as both sides of the ball," McMartin said. "We want to continue to build and improve. And then, I think, have fun. I want these guys to really enjoy playing football. I think they had fun today and we have to keep going."